An interior of a vehicle, such as automobile, typically includes energy absorbers for absorbing energy from an occupant of the vehicle during an impact of the vehicle. Energy absorbers may be passive, e.g., not activated before impact, or may be active, e.g., deployed when impact is sensed. Active energy absorbers may be in communication with an actuator and an impact sensing system. The impact sensing system may include a plurality of sensors for sensing impact and a controller in communication with the sensors and the actuator. The controller may cause the actuator to be activated when the sensors sense an impact.
Space within the interior of the vehicle is limited and, as such, it is desirable to design the energy absorber to be as small as possible. There remains an opportunity to design an active energy absorber with a reduced footprint before deployment.